Cap for fill pipes for tanks or containers



Sept. 1,1926. v [1,599,057

. G. S. M FARLAND CAP FDR FILL PIPES FOR TANKS OR CONTAINERS Filed May25, 1922 IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNE Y.

Patented Sept. 7, 1926.

- umrsn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

G-EORGE S. MGFARLAND, 0F COLUMBUS, QHIO.

CA]? Foa FILL PIPES FOR TANKS OB oonTAINEns.

Application filed May 25, 1922. vSerial No. 563,635.

[the usual method of closing the inlet thereto has been by providing ascrew cap adapted to fit the fill-pipe. It isa' well'known fact I thatby theuse of'this type of cap for the purpose stated-much time isrequired to remove and replace same; in removing and applying, the cap,the threads may become stripped or otherwise distorted; the cap may be,removed for the purpose of filling the tanker containerand not replaced,permitting dust,,dirt and other foreign objects to get into the tank aswell as increasing the danger of fire and explosion; and no means :are 1provided for automatically releasing any pressure which mayaccumulate inthe tank or container due to the expan- --si0n of the fluid containedtherein, all of which ,areflvery objectionable features. .zrAn object ofmy invention is to. provide acap o-f theabove type of suchformthata Vquick opening. and closing of the inletto "the tank :or'con'tai'ner maybe efiectedthere- -by reducing to a minimumv the danger. of V dust,dirt,.etrceteraygettinginto' the tank or a @liing'e pint? andthebifurcate hinge member 9.- integrally projecting therefrom "andcontainer; and lessening the lpossibility of fire and explosion.) fAnother objectiis to LPIQVlClG a. cap forxfillpipes for" tanks; vor-.Qcontainers for automobiles whichpermits opening of the inlet to gvexed asshown in F gure 2, thecentra-lporj .tion ofits top. terminatingin anintegrally.

-- thetankj or .Jcontainler without idetaching any ofthe;:parts'lthereofpthereby eliminating the possibility" offthe c pbeing detached and i left oifby' a personfillingthe tank." I;

-Another object is to provide meansfor sealing the cap initscl'osedposition "so asto prevent the admission of dust, dirt, et cetera, to thetank or container -inlet when samejis-closed.

v Still another I object to provide. means whereby excess.pressurefoccasioned bylthe I i v the; prongs of the-cover hinge member1s a co l spring 11 (Figure 1) whlch is so con- I expansion of theifluidcontained in the tank or container isfallowed to pass .off' freely as-."it. accumulates, thereby preventing any :danger' of theltankorcontainer being sub- 'jected to undue strainsl}. j other and furtherobjects of the. present invention will in apart be obviousend in part-bepointed out hereinafter in the specification following by reference tothe accompanying drawing, wherein like parts are represented by likecharacters throughout the several figures of the said drawing.

In the drawing 7 F lgure 1 1s a plan View of my invention.

.Figure 2 is a side elevation showing the position of the parts of myinvention in their closed position. I

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view on the line 8-3 of Figure l.

'Referring more particularly to the draw- ,ing, my invention may consistof a body '1,

which is adapted to be attached to the fill- V pipe of a tank orcontainer (not shown) of an automobile by anysuit-able means,prefer-ably by the threaded portion as shown at 2 (Figure 3). The body lis provided with a top portion 3, the surface of which is in:

clined slightly upward. A filling opening 4E 1s provided in the topportion 3 through :wh-ich access is-had to the fill-pipe of the tank orcontainer (not shown);

On the outer periphery of the top 30f and integral with the body 1 is apronged hinge member ,5 having drilled holes 6 through same adapted toreceive'the hinge 1 pin .7. :A cover 8. is hingedly mounted upion thebody '1 and adapted to cover the filling opening lwhen in its normalclosed position, thisbeing effected by means of the when it isdesired'to move the cover 8 to open the filling opening 4. It mayalso be notedhere that the cover 8 maybe raised, ifonly slightly; by fluidpressur'e'acting on its under side which will be mentioned hereinafter... V I

Mounted uponthe hinge pin 7 between structed that its end coils, insteadof terminatin'g within the circumference of the coils of thespring,extendoutward in practically straight lines at less t ha'n sothatwhen assembled. upon hinge pin-l the end.- 1.2

'90 1 prongs "of the body hinge member 5 by the V extends downward fromthe hinge pin 7, bearing against the outer surface of the body 1 asshown in Figures 1 and 3, and the opposite end 13 extends towards thecenter of the cover 8 at approximately right angles to the projectingend 1.2 and bears upon the cover 8, being held in place on same byinserting the end in a hole lt in the lug 10.

lVith the spring 11 constructed and placed as above, the end 1?) bearingon the cover 8 exerts a downward force tending to hold the cover 8closed over the filling opening t and tends to oppose the opening of thesame. By this construction it is readily seen that when pressure isapplied by the hand or otherwise to move the cover to open the fillopening t and the saidcover is in its open'position, the withdraw ng ofsuch pressure permits the spring 11 to qu ckly close the cover 8.

With the above construction it is highly desirable thata tight joint bemaintained between the cover 8 and the top 8 of the body 1 at all timeswhen the 'cover 8 is closed in order to prevent the admission of dust,dirt, et cetera, to the interior of: the

tank or container and also loss of the fluid contained therein. Toaccomplish this the gasket 15 is provided and adapted to be attached andheld in place on" the under side of the cover 8 by being interposedbetween the cov er 8 and a washer 16 which is, in turn, secured to thecoverS by a screw 17. By the use of this gasket 15 and due to theresilience of the spring acting on the cover 8, a tight seal is formedbetween the cover 8 and the top 8 of the body 1 when the cover 8 is inclosed position.

The gasket "15 may be composed of any suitable material which offers therequired elasticity and the necessary resistance to the deterioratingaction of gasoline, oils, heat, et cetera, but in connection with theabove I show and employ preferably a felt material.

Inconnection with. the use of tanks or containers for gasoline or oil,it is customary to provide an opening in the cap to take care of theconditions resulting from the expansion and contraction of -the gases inthe tank or container; but in certain instances, such as the tank orcontainer being subjected to excessive heat, the above stated openingdoes not carryotf the excessive accumulated gas quickly enough,resulting in the tank or container being subjected to on due strains. Inconnection with my invention, I likewise provide an opening 18 (Figure.3) in the top 3 of thebody 1 but in addition to that, with my invention,it the pressure in the tank or container exceeds a cer '1 predeterminedamount, the excessive pressure acting on the cover 8 will raise samefrom its seat until the excess pressure has escaped.

It will be seen that I have provided a novel and decidedly simple .capfor a tank or container inlet which is of amply strong construction andso tensioncd that it will always be held securely in normal closedposition except when it is forcibly held open for insertion of thefilling means or by excess expansion of the fluid in the container.

It will also be noted that opening and closing of the inlet to the tankor container is accomplished quickly and easily without the manipulationof any threaded portions; it is not necessary to remove any of the partsthereof to permit filling of the tank or container; and it any excesspressure accumulates due to the expansion of the fiuid contained in thetank orcontaincr, the cover will be forced open against the pressure ofthe spring whereby said pressure is automatically released.

It will be "further noted that in inserting the nozzle of the fillingmeans into the inlet of the container, the cap is so positioned andtensioned as to securely hold this noz- Zle in a fixed position duringthe filling operation.

In the various fields in which my invention may be employed, the detailsof construction may necessitate alterations falling within the scope ofwhat is claimed.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1; A cap for automobile container inlets comprising a body having anopening there through, a cover for said body, and means carried byoutwardly extending members integral with said cover and said body foryieldably holding said cover closed against normal pressure of fluid inthe container but allowing the cover to be'opened by any abnormalpressure in the container.

2. A cap for automobile container inlets comprising a body, an outwardlyopening cover for said body, members extending outwardly from said coverand said body and integral therewith, said members being pivotallyconnected at their outward extremities by a pin, a spring carried bysaid pin and said outwardly extending members so as to oppose theopening of said cover, and an upwardly extending handle member in tegralwith said cover and carrying one end of said spring.

3. A cap for automobile container inlets comprising a detachable bodyhaving an opening in the top thereof, an outwardly opening cover forclosing said opening, said cover carrying a closure sealing means andhaving an upstanding handle member integral therewith, lugs integralwith and projecting from said cover having a hinge pin mounted betweenthe ends thereof, aspring mounted on said pin, one end of said springengaging the said handle member.

" ing handle member integral with said cover,

a hinged member integral therewith having a hinge pin mounted in thesame, and a spring mounted on said pin, oneend of said spring engagingin a socket in the said handle member.

5. A cap for container inlets comprising an apertured threaded bodyportion having a bracket, an outwardly opening lid, having handle andintegral portions pivoted to said bracket, and a spring secured to saidpivot, said spring having parts bearing vagainst said body portion andthe handle of said lid for normally maintaining said lid in closedrelation to the aperture in said body portion.

6. A cap for container inlets comprising a. bod portion having means forattaching it to tli ing adapted to register with said fill pipe, anoutwardly opening lid having a handle with a recess therein and portionspivoted to said body portion and a spring on said pivot having a portionengaging with the recess in the handle of said lid and a portion bearingagainst said body portion, said spring serving to'maintain-said lid inclosed relation to the opening in said body portion.

In testimony whereof I hereby aifix my signature.

- GEORGE s. MCFARLAND.

e fill pipe of a container and an open-

